Michigan news roundup for Wednesday, Oct. 9

LANSING (AP) — The latest perpetrator to run afoul of a Michigan judge’s ban on ringing cellphones in his courtroom is the judge himself.

The courtroom of Lansing District Judge High Clarke Jr. has a sign warning visitors to silence their phones, saying they’ll be found in contempt if a phone rings.

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Clarke was in the middle of a hearing Friday when his own cellphone rang. So he found himself in contempt of court.

“I reached in my pocket, pulled out 50 bucks, gave it to my court officer and she took it upstairs,” Clarke told the Lansing State Journal (http://on.lsj.com/17ofJcj ).

He has a receipt with a 10:29 a.m. time stamp.

“Why would I treat myself any different? That would make me a hypocrite,” said Clarke, who joined the bench in 2010.

Clarke said he has imposed penalties for ringing phones five to 10 times since the policy began in May. In fact, he fined a defendant for a ringing phone minutes before his own phone rang.

Clarke said the moral of the story was to leave the phone in his office.

House votes for 30-day wait for accident reports

LANSING (AP) — The Michigan House has voted to make lawyers and others wait 30 days before using auto accident reports to solicit injured motorists.

Bills approved 98-10 Wednesday and sent to the Senate are designed to protect injured motorists from overaggressive solicitors in the days following their accident.

Violators would face a misdemeanor charge and $15,000 fine. Repeat offenders could see jail and a $30,000 fine.

Republican Rep. Joseph Graves of Argentine Township sponsors one bill and says it also would cut down on fraud and abuse in Michigan’s auto no-fault system.

To obtain an accident report in the first 30 days after it’s filed with a law enforcement agency, a requestor must acknowledge he can’t use it to directly solicit people in the report or disclose personal information to third parties.

Bill would create fund to promote benefits of hunting

LANSING (AP) — Michigan lawmakers are moving to create a fund to sell the public on the benefits of hunting.

Legislation approved 77-31 Wednesday in the House would create the Michigan Wildlife Management Public Education Fund. It would be funded with a portion of higher hunting and fishing fees recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.

A council would spend money on a comprehensive media-based information program promoting the role sportsmen and sportswomen play in furthering wildlife conservation. The public also would be told the importance of hunting and fishing to the state’s economy and cultural heritage.

The fund would receive about $1.6 million a year from an already approved $1 surcharge on new base hunting and fishing licenses. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Missing 2-year-old found safe

BARTON TOWNSHIP (AP) — Authorities say a 2-year-old girl has been found safe about 24 hours after she wandered away from her home in a heavily wooded area of western Michigan.

An alert was issued Tuesday for Amber Smith, and police and volunteers searched through the night for her near her home in Newaygo County’s Barton Township. It’s close to Manistee National Forest and about 55 miles north of Grand Rapids.

MLive.com reports that sheriff’s Deputy David Israel rounded a corner on his four-wheeler when he spotted Amber along a track.

Israel says she was “standing right there, completely calm.”

Amber was taken to Mecosta County Medical Center to be checked for what appeared to be minor scrapes and bruises.

Bill limits who sees juvenile criminal info

LANSING (AP) — The Michigan Senate has voted to keep the public from seeing juvenile criminal history information on a state database.

The bill approved 35-0 Wednesday now heads to the House.

The legislation would keep juvenile records off limits to everyone but authorities with access to the Law Enforcement Information Network, or LEIN.

Until recently, the public and media could see juvenile offender information through the ICHAT database for a $10 fee per check. State police changed policy in the summer.

The bill would codify the change.

The bill’s sponsor is Republican Sen. Roger Kahn of Saginaw Township. He says juveniles should get a chance to move on with their lives without the stigma of a criminal record.

The Michigan Press Association opposes the measure, favoring the public’s right to know.